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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27576263">A Small Ripper Raptor Puffing Up Its Feathers (being born and raised in Jakku taught somebody to be aware)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkCat/pseuds/BlackCat'>BlackCat (DarkCat)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Aftermath - Chuck Wendig</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>And Actually Attempting To Be A Decent Human Being While He's At It, And Rax Is Calling Finders Keepers, And Then Subsequently Decides He Is Keeping That Kid, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Bad Parenting, Because Armitage Hux Needed A Better One, Brendol Hux's A+ Parenting, Brilliant Precocious Children That Remind People Of Rae Sloane Most Of All, Child Abandonment, Child Neglect, Engineer Armitage Hux, Engineer Maratelle Hux, Except For Thrawn We Like Thrawn, Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Future Engineer Armitage Hux I mean, Gallius Rax Finds A Kid, Gallius Rax Mentally Gushing About Rae Sloane For a Bit, Gallius Rax Ruins Everything But I Still Love Him, Gen, He's Like Five He Can't Study For That Yet, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Keyword Being "Attempting", Maratelle Hux Is A Good Mother, Mentioned Brendol Hux, Mentioned Maratelle Hux, Mentioned Rae Sloane, Nice Armitage Hux, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Past Child Abuse, Says A Lot About The People Of The Empire Honestly, Sorry Brendol You Lost Your Son, The Empire Needs Children, The Fact That Gallius Rax Was The Only Decent Choice Available, Young Armitage Hux, but he will, shameless fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:26:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,018</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27576263</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkCat/pseuds/BlackCat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Brendol Hux is a notable child brainwasher who doesn't know the first thing about actual decent parenting, Gallius Rax originally just wanted to perform a bit of a surprise visit on the engineering department whilst giving foreboding orders but gained way more than he bargained for in the process, and five year-old Armitage Hux gets acquainted with the Emperor-to-be in all but name and then the floor. Not precisely in that specific order.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Armitage Hux &amp; Gallius Rax, Implied One-Sided Gallius Rax/Rae Sloane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Small Ripper Raptor Puffing Up Its Feathers (being born and raised in Jakku taught somebody to be aware)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This begun as a bit of a silly experiment in attempting to get inside Gallius Rax's head for once while I write the bigger story I've been working on, since I was rereading the Aftermath trilogy for research purposes at the time. I almost decided against posting it since Rax was a very peculiar narrator to get the hang of, but I think I <em>might've</em> managed to find a narrative voice that fits him.</p><p>(The capitalization in the title might change, but I love the title itself too much to change it.)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>These were stressful and unexpected times to live in.</p><p>The known universe was changing irrevocably, whether or not everyone would be willing to believe it, and what with everything going on inside of it this should indeed come as no surprise.</p><p>Thunder rocked the very foundations of order itself. Imperial rule waned, the Rebellion painstakingly asserted itself as a brand New ghost of the Old Republic, battles became legends became folk tales as they traveled from the Core Worlds to the most out of reach planets and space stations while people all over all looked to the stars with a new sense of wonder that wouldn't soon fade. Wherever they looked, chaos reigned supreme.</p><p>The Emperor had died, the galaxy was in shambles, and the people trying to rearrange the pieces of the puzzle in a way that fit were having a field day still. In the midst of this chaos, an officer and a child were taken from Arkanis by a bounty hunter on orders given by a Grand Admiral on behalf of someone else. Someone who, hidden behind the scenery, pulled the strings from the shadows.</p><p>But that was almost a month ago now. And the old Emperor died a year ago besides. It'd be a lie to say nobody really cared anymore, yet no one knew what the future held at the time, so it had been long accepted as fact and most people had other things in mind now than worrying about unknown variables they couldn't know to control.</p><p>That day for example, in the hallway of a Super Star Destroyer named Ravager—one of many leading to the engine rooms—a boy was lying alone on the ground. Breathing slowly in and out in a rough three second pattern.</p><p>Gallius Rax, who had just crossed the threshold to said hallway and prided himself on being the one to hold the most of the puzzle pieces out of anyone—didn't exactly <em>freeze</em> at the unexpectedness of it. But he did do a double take, and made a bit of an intrigued <em>hmm</em> kind of face, before ever so slow and dignified approaching the child. Whose red hair clashed quite remarkably with the lifeless grey of the cold metal flooring.</p><p>"What are you doing there, pray tell?"</p><p>"Spoke up when I shouldn't have. Father pushed me." The boy mumbled, muffled against the bruised skin of the arm he'd crossed so his face wouldn't hit the ground and then just kind of left there. "He said not to get up until he said so, and then he left."</p><p>Just like that, Gallius Rax knew who the child was, and also wanted to push someone out an airlock. Both realizations were quite simultaneous, and the knee jerk reaction rather instantaneous. Blame his time with the anchorites back in his home planet for the latter if you may, most specifically a man called Kodos, who had <em>quite a similar approach</em> to raising children.</p><p>On a whim, he looked around and listened intently, noting the disparities in mechanical ambient sounds—because if there was something being born and raised on Jakku taught somebody it was to be <em>aware</em> of one's environment. Once he had confirmed there wasn't anyone around who was not also a sufficient distance away, he got down on one knee and raised a hand to the boy's head, casually ruffling the vibrant red locks there with his best attempt at a theatrically thoughtful complexion.</p><p>"Said that, didn't he?"</p><p>Instead of recoiling away from range the boy positively paralyzed, then when nothing bad happened stared at him quite strangely. In wonderment and yet confused, as if he believed that Rax would disappear if he so much as blinked yet wouldn't know what to do with himself if by some miracle that wasn't the case.</p><p>"Let me tell you a secret, about people who say things like that," Rax merely continued amiably, even if the stare made him somewhat uncomfortable, for some unidentifiable reason. "When they tell you to stay down? That is precisely the moment when you must most try to stand up. It will often prove difficult and sometimes even impossible for a given amount of time, but you mustn't be discouraged by this. Life is a long line of falling down and learning how to get back up again."</p><p>The boy blinked at him.</p><p>He, pointedly, did not disappear.</p><p>Feeling charitable, he offered his hand instead.</p><p>"Well, what are you waiting for? Wipe your hands, shake it off and chip up. Let this be your first lesson: Pull yourself together, and after you make it you better stay standing."</p><p>After a few long seconds of charged hesitation, the child finally took the extended helping hand and they both rose from the ground. Rax loomed rather notably at full height but the child did not seem frightened by this, as given the boy's history with his own father the Fleet Admiral had thought he'd be. Quite contrary, he stood very straight at full height too, as if he were trying to imitate Rax's own posture—which if anything was flattering, even if Rax did not otherwise precisely know how to feel about it.</p><p><em>This is faith,</em> he thought, even as some part of him whispered: <em>This is trust.</em></p><p>This was <em>faith.</em> He'd inspired faith, he'd inspired <em>loyalty,</em> he was not being soft. And these thoughts and rationalizations were enough to calm any amount of uncertainty he might've felt about the motive behind his own actions.</p><p>The child bowed their head respectfully, a little clumsily, still not quite knowing what to do with themselves. Performing a tiny salute that was perhaps only marginally less awkward than a new cadet's which Rax couldn't help but immediately correct due to hard coded military training.</p><p>The boy flinched a bit at his touch, yet it seemed more instinctive than purposeful, and if he was uncomfortable he did not say so. Rax removed the offending contact promptly anyway. This did not go unnoticed. "Thank you, sir."</p><p>"Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax." He introduced himself, almost as a correction. "Who might you be?" He asked right after, because it was only polite, even if he <em>did</em> already know.</p><p>"My name is Armitage, Fleet Admiral Rax. Sir."</p><p>He let slip a little bit of a smile. His tone remained agreeable and kind. "And do you happen to have a surname, Armitage."</p><p>"Hux." The boy added immediately, proceeding to reformulate his sentence more cleanly as if that would magically erase the mistake. "I am Armitage Hux, sir."</p><p>This child did not speak at all like a child, and the affectation for formal speech was a rather admirable quality at such an early age. One to be encouraged and nurtured, certainly.</p><p>"It is nice to meet you, Armitage." He kept the smile in place. Kept it from growing in size fondly. Kept his tone strictly on the professional like he would when addressing a certain high-ranking co-worker who, as it happened, spoke quite similarly to this child. "You might not know this, but this is not precisely the most popular part of the ship. Thereby, I assume you will understand me wondering as to your whereabouts. What did you say you were doing here?"</p><p>The boy hesitated. Rax wanted, for a split second, to reassure him. What had <em>gotten</em> into him? "I wanted to see the engines, sir. My mother—my apologies, I mean Mara, Maratelle Hux—she taught me much about the subject. She tried to teach me to read with manuals and blueprints, it was quite entertaining, seeing where each and every cog fit on the machine how in sync everything functioned—"</p><p>He stopped then, as if expecting the only adult in the premises to interrupt him. Rax, for his part, was too busy wondering if perhaps he <em>should've</em> ordered Swift to bring the wife too. A ship never filled it's quota on engineers, and to have <em>understood</em> such complex manuals, even less on hyperphysicists.</p><p>Well, the decision had been made already. Hux's… unique skillset was one thing, paramount to the future of the Empire as it could prove to be, and the timing had been risky as-is. Arkanis had fallen to the New Republic since, they couldn't effort to send Swift back for a hyperphysicist alone. Even less one rumoured to have ties with the former Rebellion. The woman's fate was out of his hands.</p><p>Then, his mind got snagged like a sharp hook on an important hole to the child's story. "It is quite easy to get lost, in a ship this big. As I assume your father did not actively lead you here, how did you figure out the location of the engine room so quickly?"</p><p>"Oh, that was easy!" The child stood straighter, if at all possible, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. Brimming with pride like a small ripper raptor puffing up its feathers. "I simply followed the sound, see? It reverberates throughout the whole of the ship, yes, but I figured it would gradually grow louder the closer… I was to the… engine room." Gradually loosing enthusiasm, curling open hands into self-conscious fists at his sides. Making himself smaller as if someone were about to punish him for thinking himself too cunning, or perhaps merely for speaking his mind so enthusiastically.</p><p>Rax felt, anew, that strong impulsive urge to throw Brendol Hux out of an airlock. He did not think Sloane would very much mind, she didn't seem overly fond of the man either.</p><p>Then again, if she were, that'd just be further justification to throw him out an airlock. But the man was brass and rude and <em>as evidenced now</em> exhibited conduct not at all becoming of an officer his given rank. The notable skills possessed in his… chosen craft nonwithstanding, Sloane was far too great an asset and smart and proper a person to ever see anything of note in someone so simple minded. Or so Rax fervently hoped.</p><p>He was forced to remind himself that there was a <em>reason</em> he'd brought the other officer here in the first place. That there was an use to the Arkanisian Commandant yet.</p><p>"A very clever approach." He reassured the child in front of him, giving in to himself on the small things the way he often did during conversation with Sloane. "I, myself, know many a trained officer that would not have thought of it to save their life." As it happened, he himself had never thought of it, despite constantly using the deviances in vibration and sound as a reference for the location of other people.</p><p><em>Maybe because the engines have become such a key part of everyday life for everyone, we often dismiss the noise and take it for granted.</em> Improvable but not by any means incredible, that it would take a planetbound boy to note something most lifelong spacers learned to ignore.</p><p>Said child averted his eyes. "I'm certain it's nothing that would not have occurred to a mere cadet or an Ensign, sir."</p><p>That decided it. The Empire would need better standards under him. He'd command Brendol to teach the malleable, considerably more well mannered, already rather intelligent child everything he knew. After the awful man outlived his usefulness, <em>then</em> Rax would go through with it. It would be very satisfying, the way killing Kodos, when the time for <em>that</em> came, would be very satisfying.</p><p>"We shall agree to disagree, and let us momentarily dismiss the matter. The engine room is indeed this way but it is quite a way off still." An idea involving considerably less casualties occured to him then. One that would serve, he assured himself, to further endear his small charge to the idea of serving him and hopefully in the long run dissuade any loyalty left towards the awful father. It'd be for the boy's own good, truly, everybody would win. "Do you wish me to take you there? I was already heading there and find myself with a bit of time in my hands. It'd be no trouble for me to, at the very least, explain the basics of how everything works."</p><p>"Really?!"</p><p>The boy's eyes possibly illuminated at the possibility, and Rax had never fancied himself to have paternal wishes, but he thought then he might've been starting to understand why some fathers looked at their children and subsequently decided they would do their absolute damnest to give them the world. He then proceeded to be mildly horrified at himself for even entertaining the thought.</p><p>Did smart childred bursting to the brim with potential just have such an effect on people? What was <em>the matter</em> with him?</p><p>Perhaps it was simply that the painfully controlled neutral expression on the child's face despite the palpable excitement, hesitation sprinkled with caution, reminded him subtly of Rae Sloane. And not so subtly of himself.</p><p>"Truly." He reassured, after hopefully not too long a pause of being blindsided by the immediate direction his mind had went. "Come along now, I will guide the way."</p><p>He started walking, a clear sign for the boy to follow.</p><p>Although seemingly not clear enough, because he did not hear anything after the first two steps. The boy had frozen on the spot, like an eager nexu cub who knew he was being offered food and was gauging whether or not it had been poisoned.</p><p>Rax couldn't help but find the blatant distrust a rather relatable characteristic, at such a young age.</p><p>"Well, what are you waiting for?" He patiently called out yet again, and that was all it took for the boy to break off into what he would qualify as nothing short of a run, catching up fast with the Fleet Admiral's much longer strides.</p><p>Suddenly, the five or perhaps four year old slipped after faltering in his steps. Almost nonchalantly, <em>too</em> nonchalantly, righting himself by clinging to the white fabric of Rax's jodspurts. Most specifically nearing the knee of the left leg.</p><p>Gallius Rax looked down and stared at the monochrome metal flooring and firmly told himself not to panic, because that would surely had made <em>the child</em> panic, and with the current delicate state of affairs as far as mutual trust went if that were to happen then Armitage might've never casually touched a moral guardian ever again.</p><p><em>I am the adult here,</em> he thought disdainfully. Adults gave the example for children to follow. Adults did <em>not</em> panic over unexpected physical contact not unlike traumatized animals.</p><p>He was not soft. A vworkka, not a skittermouse. He would <em>not</em> make a big deal out of this. He was determined not to.</p><p>He started walking again just as soon as he noticed that he'd been startled into stopping abruptly. It was barely a millisecond's delay. The boy hurriedly followed his example.</p><p>While he went back to valiantly attempting to pretend that he knew exactly what he was doing with this new project he'd seemingly decided to adopt without fully consulting his own opinion on the matter—and good stars above the <em>phrasing</em> of that thought needed work—being observed all the while by wide eyes full of wonder and trust that made him even more uncomfortable somehow… the child had seemingly decided that he <em>wasn't</em> letting go.</p><p>Rax, bravely, did not mention it. Rebalancing his stance imperceptibly as he walked so that the boy hopefully wouldn't fall and find himself back on the floor again. If at all possible, such counter productive occurrences should be avoided.</p><p>The child, understandably, did not seem to take note of this careful nuance. Shocking development, that.</p><p> </p><p>…As it turned out, when allowed to speak to his heart's content, Armitage Hux was quite the conversational child. A <em>very</em> conversational child. It might've been bothersome if it hadn't been occasionally surprising and altogether somewhat endearing.</p><p>Rax found himself being treated to such interesting subjects as the child's felinoid pet back in Arkanis <em>("She has the softest fur and the loveliest face and her name is Millicent!")</em> and the most recent development concerning popular Kade Genti comics <em>("…I thought he would lose but then the bad guys when pow, and just like that the hero saved his planet from being destroyed to make an intergalactic highway!")</em>, to how the style in which blueprints were made had evoled with the galaxy's technology <em>("I think we might've actually had more detailed holograms back during the Clone Wars, but don't tell Mara I said so because our droid DD would get offended and what the book actually said was…")</em> and anything and everything in between.</p><p>Given this characteristic the trek to the engine room was rather entertaining, if uneventful. They did not encounter anyone—thank the stars for small mercies—and finding himself trying to explain everything on sight and answer the boy's rather insightful questions which he all too often found not even he himself possessed the answer to, once they did get there, proved to be even more enlightening.</p><p>He found himself forced to consult with the very slack jawed engineer on duty at the time on the matter, as well as implicitly swear them to secrecy under threat of death.</p><p>All in all he believed the child had fun and, even if the experience was a bit tiring, Galli would be lying if he said he didn't either.</p><p>…Armitage never <em>did</em> let go of the fabric even after the very end of the walk there, but Rax valiantly soldiered on and continued to neglect saying anything on the matter.</p><p>
  <em>(Mostly, because he had the feeling that acknowledging it would've only been worse somehow.)</em>
</p><p>All in all, he'd given the foreboding orders he originally went there to give and found himself a new potential asset. It had been a very productive couple of hours.</p><p>It was actually nearing the time for him to leave Armitage and attend to other matters when the kid keeled over, so it was only due to proximity that he was able to react as soon as he did and catch him.</p><p>The trip to the medical bay afterwards was, in stark contrast, not at all uneventful.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Jeez, that sure was an experience. Rax as a narrator is so very. I can't even actually describe it honestly. I mean, he has that—thing. That… unmistakably <em>Rax</em> thing that I don't know if I could capture?</p><p>I guess, for me, Rax is defined by a cultured ruthlessness: a suave viciousness. He will lecture you on the correct steps to a ballroom dance and then callously dispatch somebody at the end of the same sentence without reflection or doubt. He is in many ways thoroughly British and thereby almost outright Coruscanti, though that be <em>very</em> far from the truth.</p><p>The truth being the fact that, deep beneath, he remains the frightened and desperate boy with a mean streak and a hell of a temper from Jakku. It's just hard to see, most days. But although his schtick is nearly flawless there's always something <em>slightly</em> off about Rax, if you know where to look. (Little Armitage, having trained himself to recognize emotion in Imperial officers so as to survive his homelife as a whole, of course knows where to look because he is <em>of course</em> looking for it. But, unlike Sloane who is able to see/perhaps-imagine the passive aggressive manipulation and condescension and ulterior motives to everything Rax does, he is a <em>kid</em> and one who is not that good at social queues besides; so he doesn't really know how to identify that peculiarty yet and thereby doesn't really mind it either way just as long as he thinks Rax is being kind.)</p><p>Rax is, also, the perfect choice to ruffle someone's hair, since it is such a long recognized gesture of both good will and condescension so ambiguous it just <em>fits him.</em> And he <em>actually would</em> besides, because as unusual as that is for an Imperial he is a very tactile person and will constantly invade the personal space of people he doesn't despise and overwhelm them with casual touches. I think it's not even a power move so much as <em>it is who he is,</em> as evidenced in practically his every interaction with Sloane. It is my personal belief however that when people turn that around on <em>him,</em> as evidenced by his interactions with a certain Sith Lord… he is often at a complete loss of how to react, the hypocrite (then again, come to think of it that might've just been Palpatine's natural gift to give people the creeps more than a standard reaction to unexpected physical contact, and Rax who was not much older than Armitage here when he met guy might've low-key absorbed this tendency from questionable sources if that's the case).</p><p>…If you didn't read the books you likely won't know what I mean, but in a way, many ways, Hux is a lot more like Gallius Rax than he is Rae Sloane. In the main Canon more than anywhere else. (Surprising, considering he's implied to have known the latter for years down the line and the former for maybe a few months when he was about five. Either having a non-outright-abusive father figure for once just meant that much to him or Rax just leaves that lasting an impression on people.)</p><p>I'll probably have to write something with Sloane as the center piece to make up for this at some point.</p><p>EDIT: Aaaand, it is done. Expect a second chapter featuring her soon enough. Though I've decided I am stuck with Rax's fun as heck point of view just so I get to keep gushing! Or rather, hearing him gush about her as it may. If I changed perspectives she would most definitely not have many flattering things to say, so I'll stick with what works for now.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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